It's Spring and we are back on the road again.

Our first volunteer trip of the year was to Utah. We worked at Edge of the Cedars Museum in Blanding UT identifying pot sherds and lithics. They gave us a full day of training and then handed us bags of artifacts to identify. We had three archaeologists there to help us and we had examples as well as a museum full of artifacts to study. We visited a site one day to practice in the field too.

Drawers full of pot sherds and lithics for reference.

In the evenings the archaeologists took us to a few important sites in the area. It was a great week! After a resupply in Moab we drove to Horseshoe Canyon for our week of interp for the National Park Service at the rock art panels. This was our 4th year so I was a little more relaxed about answering the questions we get from visitors but still nervous about the daily 7+ mile hike. We did fine though.

Cowboy Steve looking for wild burros in the canyon.

Bruce doing some cairn work at the Alcove Site.

We even had company, Thurman came over to visit and do the hike one day. It was fun to have some company hiking and camping there. We love being there but it was great to be back home too.

Now we are on the road to South Lake Tahoe to volunteer for the Forest Service at the Tallac Historic Site. This will be our first time to Lake Tahoe so we aren't sure what to expect. We will help get the site ready for visitors and then once open help run things.

We are traveling on Route 50 "the loneliest road in America" through Nevada. So far there hasn't been a lot of traffic but we did meet  Angela Hatton walking from California to Maryland, the length of Highway 50 to raise awareness for veterans and PTSD. #walkforvets She started in March and expects that it will take her 7 1/2 months. She is meeting with vets along the way and putting together photos and stories, possibly a documentary.

Inspiring young woman walking the length of Route 50

We stopped at Great Basin National Park and did a short hike, much of the park is still snowy. As we continued west we crossed many small mountain ranges, drove in and out of valleys with mining and ranching history. Near Fallon we visited Grimes Point rock art site. Basalt boulders with old petroglyphs covering them on what was the shore of an ancient lake.

Petroglyphs here can be as much as 7000 years old.

Bruce at a cave excavated in the 1970's.

So, there are not many trees in parts of Nevada so I guess that when you have one you must use it well, like to hang your shoes on. Yes, a shoe tree!

We saw two shoe trees but it was raining when we passed the second one and we didn't stop for photos.

Some of the shoes looked pretty good but I was afraid that it would be bad karma to take any!

We leave Nevada tomorrow and are looking forward to seeing our California home for the next month.

Marine Reserves and Really Big Trees

Our oceans are threatened by natural and human stressors that affect the health of that environment and can negatively impact us all. In Oregon, citizens, government and environmental groups met to address this problem. They created Marine Reserves and Marine Protected Areas to provide an underwater safe zone for plants and animals to help boost diversity and improve the health of the ocean. Cape Perpetua is one of those reserves and has an amazing variety of life in the tide pools and the rocky areas and forest for nesting birds. Every day we get to see wildlife that is very foreign to mountain dwellers like us.

Giant Green Sea Anemones

Ochre Sea Star and Barnacles

Sand Dollars

Goose Neck Barnacle off the rock

Giant California Mussels

Sea Anemones buried by sand

Seaweed bed

This sand worm can bite!

The tide pools are also feeling the stress of a changing climate. Since there have not been any strong winter storms for the past two years the sand that would normally be washed away is still on shore and is filling in some of the tide pools.



On a recent long weekend we drove south to California to see the Redwoods. There are some big Sitka Spruce here in Oregon, Cape Perpetua has the second oldest at 550 years old and a 40 ft circumference but California has Coast Redwoods which are the tallest trees in the world and can live to be 2000 years old. It was amazing to see these giants who seemed solidly rooted into the earth.

Of course we had to drive thru

Lots of burls on the trees but this one was special

We are not in Colorado any more.....

I don't think I have ever lived in a place where the environments are different yet codependent. Here on the central coast of Oregon there are lush old growth forests on steep hillsides that tilt down towards the ocean and beaches. Coastal fog as well as rain provide moisture for forests where sea birds nest. The ocean and beaches are home to countless species who depend on each other for survival.
The Oregon coast sits on top of the meeting of two plates which mean that earthquakes or tsunamis can happen at any time. The entire coast has "safe" areas marked and residents live with emergency kits and evacuation plans. No one sits around and worries about this but they live with this possibility the way we live knowing that a forest fire can devastate Evergreen.

This same geology creates beautiful rock basalt beds on the beaches for tide pools and an amazing amount of marine life on or near the coast.

The basalt has been sculpted into caves and chasms or here at Thor's Well a large round hole that fills from the bottom as the waves come in.

Tide pool with sea urchins and sea lettuce

Ochre sea stars and giant green sea anemones cling to the rock

Then there are the sea creatures whose fate is dependant on outside factors. The Velella velella is a small jelly fish like animal that lives out in the sea. It has a sail on its body that helps it travel through the sea. When the winds from the west are too strong it is helplessly blown on to the shore, sometimes by the thousands. Knowledgeable beach combers will tell you not to avoid the piles of dead (smelly)  Velella velella because those same winds can blow glass floats ashore too.

Velella velella washed ashore, this is only a few but the beaches have thousands of them!

Giant Skunk Cabbage with a small slug inside

                                             They have some pretty big Banana Slugs here.

We went on a hike with a Forest Service botanist. The variety of vegetation is overwhelming.

The Native American history is as heartbreaking here as in other parts of the country. There were many related but separate bands living along this part of the coast. They traveled only a short distance to the coast and back inland depending on the season. They used wild plants for food and fiber and ate the abundant seafood on the shore and in the ocean and Salmon and other fish found in the rivers. There were  few problems between the tribes because the resources were so plentiful.  The white men's  history with the Native Americans  is filled with broken promises and broken treaties. For many years the Native tribes avoided the Yachats area because it was the site of so many abuses. Two local women became interested in the area history and through their research  they were able to piece together the events which forced the Native Americans from their homeland. Amanda was a Native woman who suffered greatly and a trail was created, on land donated by one of the women, and named after Amanda. Native peoples have since returned to the area and have found some healing walking the trail named after their ancestor. This statue celebrates Amanda and her people. 

Today our over use of the natural resources has caused officials to restrict fishing or has caused the resources to be depleted. There is a group of dedicated locals who are fighting to restore habitat and prevent the extinction of many species. More on that next time!

Oregon Adventure

We are at the end of our first three weeks in Oregon and as we left the coast and drove  to Eugene for a quick visit we realized how much we have learned in those three weeks!
For the next 2 1/2 months we are based in Waldport/Yachats Oregon. We are on the central coast in an area that is so unlike Colorado it is hard for us to comprehend. Ocean, beaches, old growth forest and rivers all create a unique and fascinating eco system.

Four days a week we volunteer at the Cape Perpetua Visitor Center which sits high above the Pacific Ocean. From the full length windows we can spot whales and sea birds and during low tide tidepools.

The Visitor Center is run by the US Forest Service and we arrived in time to participate in some of the training for summer seasonals. Most of what we do wil be selling passes, handing out maps and answering questions but we will also have the opportunity to rove the trails.
Another reason to stay here is our friends Mary and Paul in Yachats and Leslie and Dan in Eugene. We hope to have lots of time to catch up and visit with them. They have made us feel very welcome and have made adjusting this new place much easier!

We thought that we would have a single wide to live in but that didn't work out and we are settled in our camper with a shower and bathroom in the building next to us. Close quarters but I think we can make it work. We are about 12 miles from the Cape but only about a block from the beach and we fall asleep listening to the ocean.
More next time about some of the amazing flora and fauna, people too!

Porcupine Rim

The base of a projectile point that I found.

We started our week with a few days hiking around Moab.  Town was crowded but we managed, with Thurman's direction to hike in places that were not busy at all.  On Sunday our weather luck ran out and after a Mother's Day lunch in town, we drove up Sand Flats road to the group camping area, in the rain and sleet.
We were going to camp for a week and volunteer through Passports in Time for the US Forest Service surveying an archeology site and rock art panel.  We arrived to find one cold tent camper, Ray  who was also there for the project.  We shared tea in our camper and then all turned in for an early night.

A snowy night in May

Next morning the rest of the volunteers and archaeologists arrived but it was too cold and snowy to work.  We hung around, got to know each other and did a quick hike up to the site.  Early to bed again, too cold to sit around.  Next morning was sunny and warmer, time to get to work!

The site needed to be mapped, photographed and documented.  We divided up into groups, my group started at the rock shelter.

Archaeologist Catie and artist Valerie discuss the rock art.

Hiking back to our campsite.

Day two we did more mapping, identifying lithics, documenting rock art and exploring.
In the evening we shared dinner, the archaeologists brought food for the group and cooked a few nights. We had lots of time around the camp fire talking and laughing.

My Rock Art sketches

The last day we split up into groups and our group hiked to a different area looking for sites.  We found a lithic scatter that we mapped and part of a metate.  Pretty cool!

Identifying and recording a lithic scatter

Part of a basin metate

Sunset our last night on the rim.

We met so many interesting and wonderful people and learned a lot.  It was a great week and we can't wait to volunteer for another project!  Passport in Time     http://www.passportintime.com/

Horseshoe Canyon and San Rafael Swell

We just got back from an amazing time in Utah.  We started our trip exploring some of the San Rafael Swell just north and south of I70.  Because this area is so popular with ATVs we haven't spent time there but we were able to find some quieter places mid week.
Our first stop was Head of Sinbad, just north of I70.  Two beautiful Barrier Canyon Style panels on a long cliff face.

We crossed back under I70 looking for a place to camp and saw signs for Lone Warrior panel which we visited before looking  for a place to camp.

Crossing under I70 on the dirt roads in the Swell

Lone Warrior

Our first campsite

The next morning we explored Swasey Cabin built in 1921 by Joe Swasey who grazed livestock in the area.

After hiking a bit of Lone Eagle Canyon we drove further west on I70 to the town of Ferron to look for more rock art.  After some searching we stopped in at the Forest Service office for some directions.  With their help we found the road we wanted but it was too steep and rough for the camper.  We set off on foot and after a few wrong turns found Ferron Box.  The area around the bend in Ferron Creek had some unusual Fremont images as well as a few Barrier Style panels.

Looks flat here but most was hilly and rough.

Rock art on the cliffs above Ferron Creek

Unusual Fremont Panel high on the cliff

Not everyone makes it out of here!

Later we stopped in Castle Dale UT for gas and a small museum with a wonderful collection of artifacts many of which had been donated by locals.  The Museum of the San Rafael was an interesting stop.

The museum logo is the Head of Sinbad panel

We stopped at a few other places in the Swell and then it was time to drive to Horseshoe Canyon.  We had volunteered there last year but because I twisted my knee Bruce did the daily canyon hikes.  This year I would join him in the hikes, answering questions from visitors and leading a guided walk.

A section of the Great Gallery

Filming a documentary

Part of our daily hike

At the gate into the canyon

We hiked a total of 50 miles during our week with an elevation gain and loss of 5,250 ft. It was worth it.  We had an exciting week meeting the artist in residence Serena Supplee  http://www.serenasupplee.com/   and watching a French film crew shoot part of a documentary at the Great Gallery.  We also met two geologists http://www.usu.edu/geo/luminlab/  and an archaeologist, Jerry Spangler http://archive.archaeology.org/0709/abstracts/dirtraker.html who were being interviewed for the film.  We spoke to almost 200 visitors, many of which shared their knowledge and experiences in the canyonlands.  We also enjoyed the amazing scenery of the area.